Concealment of Secrets in Early Imāmī Shīʿism: The Case of khatm al‐nubuwwa

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The practice of taqiyya can be seen as an integral aspect of Shīʿī piety, necessitated by certain esoteric doctrines. Among the beliefs to be kept secret, the major issue of the proper prophetic abilities of the imams deserves attention, given its religious and political significance. Considering various hadith on the topic, in particular the Kitāb al‐Kāfī by al‐Kulaynī, most seem to uphold the ‘orthodoxy’ of the peerless status of the Prophet Muḥammad. However, the admissible extent of the prophetic qualities of the imams hinges on Qurʾān 33:40 and the phrase ‘the Seal of the Prophets’ (khātam/khātim al‐nabīyīn), which has been interpreted other than as the politically expedient end of prophecy. Adherence to this dogma of the preclusion of prophecy after Muḥammad, apparently contradicted by reports of ‘the knowledge of the invisible world’ (ʿilm al‐ghayb) of the imams (and even of their faithful initiates), can therefore sensibly be understood as taqiyya.